Coating Electrospun Chitosan Nanofibers with Polyelectrolyte Multilayers Using the Polysaccharides Heparin and N,N,N-Trimethyl Chitosan

摘要

A new method is presented for functionalizing electrospun nanofibers with GAGs and growth factors by PEM deposition. Electrospun chitosan nanofibers, spun from trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane, were coated with PEMs, using the polysaccharides heparin and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan. FGF-2 was adsorbed on the PEM-coated nanofibers. Nanofiber neutralization, PEM construction, and FGF-2 adsorption were monitored using FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Alcian blue staining was used to confirm the presence of heparin. SEM was used to study nanofiber morphology. A method for layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolyte multilayers on electrospun chitosan nanofibers is presented. This method preserves the nanofiber structure and integrity, without chemical crosslinking, and enables versatile functionalization of chitosan nanofibers with bioactive chemistries such as heparin and growth factors.